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ORDINAL UTILITY: A method of analyzing utility, or satisfaction derived from the consumption of goods and services, based on a relative ranking of the goods and services consumed. With ordinal utility, goods are only ranked only in terms of more or less preferred, there is no attempt to determine how much more one good is preferred to another. Ordinal utility is the underlying assumption used in the analysis of indifference curves and should be compared with cardinal utility, which (hypothetically) measures utility using a quantitative scale.
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                           WHOLESALE PRICE INDEX: An index of the prices paid by retail stores for the products they ultimately resell to consumers. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was the forerunner of the modern Producer Price Index (PPI) and was discontinued in 1978. Other noted price indexes used to track economic activity are the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the GDP price deflator. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was first published in 1902, and was one of the more important economic indicators available to policy makers until it was replaced by the PPI in 1978. The change to Producer Price Index in 1978 reflected, as much as a name change, a change in focus of this index away from the limited wholesaler-to-retailer transaction to encompass all stages of production. While the WPI is no longer available, the family of producer price indexes provides a close counterpart in what is labeled the Finished Goods Price Index.The importance of the WPI rested with its ability to forewarn later changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and inflation. The WPI's forecasting ability rested with the simply input-output relation for retail stores. In other words, the prices PAID BY retail stores for their inputs are largely passed along as prices CHARGED TO consumers buying these goods as outputs. An increase in the WPI resulting from higher input prices this month, is likely reflected in an increase in the CPI in future months. This forecasting ability was frequently useful for stabilization policies. Suppose, for example, that the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System wanted to prevent inflation. Even though the CPI and GDP price deflator were relatively stable, an increase in the WPI would have prompted the Chairman to initiate contractionary monetary policy, making a pre-emptive strike against inflation.
 Recommended Citation:WHOLESALE PRICE INDEX, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2025. [Accessed: July 18, 2025]. Check Out These Related Terms... | | | | | | | Or For A Little Background... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | And For Further Study... | | | | | | | | | | | Related Websites (Will Open in New Window)... | |
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Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time searching the newspaper want ads seeking to buy either an extra large beach blanket or a large flower pot shaped like a Greek urn. Be on the lookout for fairy dust that tastes like salt. Your Complete Scope
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More money is spent on gardening than on any other hobby.
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"A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses those skills to accomplish his goals. " -- Larry Bird, basketball player
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AEC Annual Equivalent Costs
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